549 Lordship Lane

The house may have been designed by Charles Barry Jr. (1823-1900) (son of Sir Charles Barry who worked on the Houses of Parliament), possibly as a rectory or parsonage to accompany his Gothic style St Peter's Church on the opposite other side of Lordship Lane.

[1] It was made from Portland cement with "burnt ballast" (clay) aggregate, without reinforcement, faced with mortar and render.

The steeply pitched slate roof has projecting gables, topped by three large concrete chimneys.

It suffered bomb damage in the Second World War, but survived plans to replace it in the 1950s with a petrol filling station or residential flats, or in the 1970s with a nursery, or in the 1980s with a nursing home.

It fell into disrepair and was vacant from the 1980s, with water ingress through holes in the roof causing significant damage to the interior, including the loss of the original decorative cornices and ceiling roses.